[Exclusive]"Family irrelevance." I drew the line, but..Fantagio, Cha Eun-woo's mother's eel restaurant trademark is 'secured' [synthesis]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor-singer Cha Eun-woo's agency Fantagio applied for a trademark for the eel restaurant "Yesterday's Yeondae Cheongdam." It uses the same name as the eel restaurant operated by Cha Eun-woo's mother's corporate company, which was pointed out as the epicenter of the alleged tax evasion, but denied any direct connection, saying, "It is a separate business that has nothing to do with Cha Eun-woo's family."

According to the Star News report on the 4th, Fantagio M, a subsidiary of Fantagio, applied for a trademark application related to "Yesterday's Yeoncheong" in November last year, and is currently awaiting review. Cheongdam, which opened yesterday, is an eel restaurant that Fantagio M opened at the end of last year. Fantagio M was established in July last year for the purpose of developing new people and fostering idols, but has since expanded its business to the F&B field and opened the restaurant. In September of the same year, the corporate address was also moved to Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where "Yesterday's Yeoncheong" is located.

In this regard, Fantagio explained to Star News, "We decided that in order to operate a restaurant, the corporate address should be registered as an actual business site," adding, "We have changed the address since September last year while carrying out interior construction to prepare for opening." He added, "New Development Department employees go to work at Fantagio headquarters."

Yesterday's Yeondae Cheongdam took its name from yesterday's Yeondae Charcoal Grilled Eel, an eel restaurant that Cha Eun-woo's mother operated in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, but stopped operating. The store also had the same address as Cha Eun-woo's mother's corporate company A, which was suspected of tax evasion worth 20 billion won. A is a family corporation where Cha Eun-woo's mother was listed as a CEO and his younger brother as an in-house director.

The charcoal eel opened yesterday was suspended in June last year, and the trademark was not maintained. Cha Eun-woo's younger brother, who was listed as an applicant, gave up the trademark right of "Yesterday's Charcoal Grilled Eel" in August 2024, and the process was terminated because he applied earlier in December 2022 but did not pay the registration fee.

Since then, Fantagio has opened an eel restaurant that has inherited the identity of the existing brand, including recruiting a chef who was in charge of the kitchen at 'Yesterday's Charcoal Grilled Eel', and has even applied for trademark rights, showing sincerity in the eel business. In fact, Cha Eun-woo's family's business items seem to be operated as they are by changing the outer skin of a "corporate."

However, Fantagio drew a line about his direct connection to Cha Eun-woo's family. Fantagio said, "It's been a place that Fantagio family has often visited since the days of operating in Ganghwado Island," adding, "I started the business with pure intention because I thought it would be a waste to disappear as it was when I had a good evaluation of the food and a lot of customers."

He also stressed that there is no royalty paid to Cha Eun-woo's family in exchange for the use of the trademark. Fantagio said, "Royalty is not being paid at all, and when we started the business, we only received permission for mutual use."

Previously, Fantagio said, "Yesterday's Yeondae Cheongdam is a completely different corporation from Ganghwa Island's Yeondae Charcoal Eel," adding, "Yesterday's Yeondae Cheongdam is operated by a 100% Fantagio subsidiary called Fantagio M."

Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo has recently been embroiled in allegations of tax evasion worth 20 billion won. The National Tax Service reportedly notified Cha Eun-woo of an additional 20 billion won, judging that he evaded income tax using his mother's name, A. In order to reduce income tax, which reaches 45%, it was judged that the company used a trick to apply a corporate tax rate that is more than 20% lower than the income tax rate by using a non-substantial A.

In particular, controversy intensified when it was revealed that the address of the corporation was the same as the location of yesterday's charcoal eel operated by the mother.

Cha Eun-woo, who is currently serving in the military, bowed his head on his SNS, saying, "I am deeply reflecting on whether my attitude toward the duty of tax payment as a Korean citizen was strict enough."

In addition, Cha Eun-woo dismissed the suspicion of joining the escapist army, which arose along with the tax evasion controversy, saying, "I joined the army at a time when I could no longer postpone it, and it was never an intentional choice to avoid controversy."

He then said, "I joined the military without completing the tax investigation process. However, I feel deeply responsible for this because it is also a misunderstanding arising from my lack of ability, he said. "If I were not a soldier, I would like to visit everyone who would have been affected by this incident and bow down and apologize."

Cha Un-woo said, "I am indescribably sorry to have caused great hurt and fatigue to many people who have worked with me who believed in me and supported me, even if I can't repay you," and added, "I will faithfully work on the tax-related process that is going on in the future." In addition, we will humbly accept the results according to the final judgment made by the relevant agency and fulfill our responsibilities accordingly.

Fantagio said, "The current issue is being fact-checked in accordance with the tax authorities' procedures, and the agency and the artist are faithfully investigating within the scope of their respective needs. "If legal and administrative judgments become clear in the future, we will take necessary measures responsibly according to the results," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.